Best Practices For B2B Marketing On Social Media

Any brand can create social media profiles and post a few Tweets or Instagram photos. But not every brand can plan and execute a social media strategy that gets results.

All too often we see B2B companies fall flat on social media. They don’t generate any engagement and scrolling through their feeds is about as exciting as watching paint dry.

So how can your brand avoid falling into the same pitfalls so many B2B companies are lost in?

Follow some of these best practices:

Create A Personality

Being boring and dull on social media is a good way to fail.

Unfortunately, since a lot of B2B companies treat social media as an afterthought, their posts lack personality and a human touch. For Best Digital marketing company check Vivid Digital.

The fear of being too edgy or controversial keeps some B2B marketers from getting creative with their content. And we get it, not every brand can (or should) pull off a sassy tone on social as well as Wendy’s.

However, you don’t have to be a Twitter troll or go over the top to be entertaining. There’s a big difference between Tweeting offensive jokes and just sounding like an actual human instead of a robot.

You can develop a social media voice without being inappropriate and making headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Here are some tips to get started:

Use a conversational tone.

Your company can be its own entity. For instance, you can use words like “we” and “our” when you’re speaking about your company.

Engage with other users instead of just broadcasting your message.

Social media is all about conversing and being able to have real-time conversations. Don’t be afraid to talk to your audience (whether they’re angry or happy) through your social media platforms

A little humor is always welcome.

Social media wasn’t created for businesses, it’s for humans. Social networks are where people can have fun, share content and converse. So why not let your hair down a bit with your social media content? Just make sure not to go over the top.

Nobody wants to deal with boring, faceless corporations. Use social media as a way to humanize your brand. Follow in the footsteps of B2C companies and add some spunk and flavor to your social media to connect with your audience. For more info on SEO Agency visit SEO Agency New York.

Don’t Restrict Yourself to Just LinkedIn

Wait, what? We’re telling you not to use the most effective B2B social media platform? Before you think we’ve lost our minds, keep reading.

LinkedIn has developed a reputation for being the top B2B social media platform for these companies, and it makes sense. Content Marketing Institute found that 63% of marketers rated LinkedIn as the most effective B2B social media platform.

As a result, a lot of B2B marketers feel they need to be on LinkedIn and nothing else.

The reason behind this is they’re looking at social media strictly as a way to generate leads, which makes LinkedIn appealing. However, your first goal of B2B social media marketing needs to be branding, not leads.

While your inner-marketer might be telling you social media is all about selling products, that’s far from the reality.

Most people are on social media to be entertained and kill some time, so your social media content needs to appeal to that. That means instead of posting a bunch of Instagram videos about why your products are so great, follow in the footsteps of Salesforce and create content that tells stories, appeals to emotion and sparks conversation.

When you think of social media with this new-found perspective, it opens up the possibility of which social media platforms you can choose beyond LinkedIn. All of a sudden Instagram and Pinterest are no longer off limit.

Social Media Examiner found that more B2B companies are starting to pick up on this and are expanding beyond LinkedIn. For Website design services check Vivid Design Consultants.

A. 89% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn

B. 88% use Facebook

C. 83% use Twitter

D. 61% use Google+

E. 55% use YouTube

F. 39% use Pinterest

G. 26% use Instagram

The companies on Instagram, Facebook and other platforms that aren’t traditionally used for B2B marketing realize the importance of using social media for branding instead of just looking for leads.

A perfect example of this is the commercial real estate company CBRE. If CBRE saw social media as a way to just generate leads, it would put all of its effort and resources toward LinkedIn.

However, the company branched out and recognized how beneficial social media can be for branding, and started utilizing other platforms like Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

One of the best ways to find other social media platforms besides LinkedIn for your B2B company is to see what your competitors are using to successfully build an audience. Finding them is easy, since most businesses have links to their social media profiles on their website.

Take a look at the top companies in your industry and see which platforms they’re dominating. That will give you an idea of where to start.

You can also take a look at these social media demographics to find out where your audience hangs out. Despite what you may have heard, LinkedIn isn’t the only social network for B2B companies. Check for SEO Services in aryavarta

Put the Right People in Charge

This could mean hiring a social media manager or having a current employee take the helm, but someone has to be in charge of your social media marketing. It’s not something you can just have different team members participate in when they have some free time.

When you’re hiring a social media manager, look for someone with a social media marketing background, not just someone with knowledge of your industry. Talented social media marketers will learn the ins and outs of your company and industry. Forcing someone who doesn’t have a passion for social media marketing into the role of a social media manager can result in a lot of struggling.

If you’re not ready to invest in a full-time social media manager quite yet, you can also consider working with a freelancer. Sites like Upwork or Freelancer.com are good places to look.